At Silicon Graphics or Verisign, you had no choice but to beg carriers to come in, get them to populate your datacenters, and sign long-terms contracts with them.

CWHK: How big is your team at Equinix? How are tech pros in Asia different from their counterparts in the US?

BL: There are about 180 people in the global IT team. Besides 'classical IT', my team's responsibilities include software development and engineering for customer-facing products, and helping customers architect their networks, applications, and datacenters.

When it comes to Asian tech pros, I want to avoid generalization. Tech pros across all regions in Equinix focus on customers and operations excellence--they're also passionate about our own projects and those of customers. Asian IT pros sometimes are more thoughtful, as well as data- and process-driven. They are also fast decision makers, with a gut-like reaction. I have a development team in Singapore and another in Silicon Valley. This combination is amazing, bringing discipline and creatively together.

CWHK: Do you report to the CFO or the CEO? How do you manage your relationship with the CFO?